It's March Madness as Ioka Theater buyers face deadline

EXETER — The Exeter Theater Company is about to embark on its own version of “March Madness,” as it must decide by the end of the month if it will exercise its option to purchase the Ioka theater building.

A rare chance to hear renowned silent film musician Jeff Rapsis provide live accompaniment to two Buster Keaton classics – The Cameraman and Sherlock Jr.

Proceeds to benefit the IOKA. Admission: $15. Information and tickets available at exetertheater.org or at Water Street Books, 125 Water Street, Exeter.

Sunday, March 10

2-5 p.m. – IOKA Phone-a-thon.

Exeter Theater Company board members and volunteers call members of the community to build support and awareness for the Century Campaign for the IOKA. To volunteer for the phone bank, contact Allison Battles at allison@exetertheater.org.

An opportunity to mix and mingle with the IOKA team for the staff and patrons of the Exeter Public Library. Open to the public and no admission fee.

In addition, ETC is holding a series of hosted house parties in the greater Seacoast area. To host a party of your own, contact Dianne Wieler at dianne@exetertheater.org.

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EXETER — The Exeter Theater Company is about to embark on its own version of “March Madness,” as it must decide by the end of the month if it will exercise its option to purchase the Ioka theater building.

Because March is such a crucial month for the nonprofit's fundraising efforts, the group has scheduled a number of fundraising receptions and community information sessions to help rally supporters.

According to project manager Adam Roberts, the Exeter Theater Company has to decide by March 31 if they want to exercise the option to purchase the building, which requires a 10 percent, or $60,000, deposit. Once that deposit is made, the group will have 60 days to purchase the building for $600,000 — the same amount the building's current owner, Alan Lewis, paid for it in a December 2011 foreclosure auction.

“Before we make a decision, we have to be confident that we have the financial backing we need to do this project, Roberts said.

The group raised about $140,000 from its initial membership drive and needs to raise about $460,000 to purchase the building,

At this time, the Exeter Theater Company Board of Directors is not sharing what it has raised, according to Roberts.

Roberts said much of the recent fund-raising has come from small individual donors.

“The outpouring of interest has been very heartening. We all assumed it would be out there and it's gone real well,” he said. “It's like a puzzle and we're trying to put all the puzzle pieces together. This month is really when we put this puzzle together.”

As part of this month's efforts, the group will be holding house parties with donors that have a “higher capacity” for giving.

Other events include a series of meet and greets, a silent film feature and information sessions.

Roberts said the group wanted a balance of informative and fun events in its stretch-drive effort. For example, the silent film double feature scheduled for March 9 at the Town Hall is a good example of an event that could be held at a revitalized Ioka, according to Roberts.

“It's the kind of thing we hope to do and we wanted to show people what they would be getting with their support,” he said. “I think this month is going to be really fun.”

The board of directors is meeting on a weekly basis and Roberts said the group would like to make a decision in advance of the deadline date,

“That's the hope but it will depend on how we're doing leading into the date,” he said. “We're confident but it will depend a lot on how these events go.”

ETC board chairman Tony Callendrello expressed the same optimism.

“We've got the team in place and now we're taking our message on the road,” Callendrello said. “Our first important deadline is fast approaching. This makes March the crucial month for talking to as many people as we can, answering their questions, and rallying their financial support.”

The nonprofit group originally hoped to lease the building from Lewis, or have the philanthropist gift the building to them, but Lewis wanted the group to raise $3.5 million to support the renovation of the building before entering into any type of legally binding agreement with the group.

As a result, the theater company decided to go the current route and do additional fundraising.